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This month we take a look at the crucial area of sustainable development via the current efforts of the "world community" (i.e. the United Nations and civil society). Understanding and tracking with these efforts is important because: a) its our world and we are all responsible to help steward it; b) the global context shapes the work we do in mission/aid and member care and vice versa; and c) there are many new opportunities (and imperatives) for relevantly serving humanity in light of our skills and values.
The two main resources emphasized in this Update provide a quick overview and an in-depth orientation to sustainable development. Resource one is the proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs) from the United Nations (July 2014). Resource two is the a free online course on sustainable development from Columbia University's Earth Institute (current). We finish with an invitation to participate in our two webinars on global integration, focusing on global member care and global mental health.
Warm greetings from Geneva,
Kelly and Michèle O’Donnell
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Transformation begins in the heart.
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United Nations Open Working Group
Outcome Document on Sustainable Development
What's Happening? We are right in the middle, as the world community and spearheaded by the United Nations, of formalizing the Post 2015 Agenda for sustainable development. What will be the goals, targets, and indicators that will be agreed upon in late 2015 and which will take us to 2030? The recent Open Working Groups Outcome Document from July 2014 is the main reference point for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are emerging. This important document builds upon many previous efforts, especially the lessons learned from the Millennium Development Goals (2002-current) and the commitments made in the Rio +20 Declaration on Sustainable Development: The Future We Want (June 2012, available in six languages).
Our suggestions: Check out the 17 proposed SDGs listed below. and review the short overview on the UN's Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Go further by reading and discussing the 17 proposed SDGs and the 169 targets in the Open Working Groups Outcome Document. Central to the upcoming SDGs is the need for a coordinated, massive effort to eradicate poverty in all its forms, prioritizing both people and the planet, and doing so by integrating the SDG’s social, economic, and environmental dimensions (see also the Executive Summary in State of the Least Developed Countries 2014, focusing on poverty eradication and the SDGs). How the world community agrees upon and accomplishes the upcoming SDGs (underpinned by the desire for justice and equity for all) is still being negotiated and debated.
Sustainable Development Goals
| Goal 1 |
End poverty in all its forms everywhere |
| Goal 2 |
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture |
| Goal 3 |
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages |
| Goal 4 |
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all |
| Goal 5 |
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls |
| Goal 6 |
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all |
| Goal 7 |
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all |
| Goal 8 |
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all |
| Goal 9 |
Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation |
| Goal 10 |
Reduce inequality within and among countries |
| Goal 11 |
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable |
| Goal 12 |
Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns |
| Goal 13 |
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts* |
| Goal 14 |
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development |
| Goal 15 |
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss |
| Goal 16 |
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels |
| Goal 17 |
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development |
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The Age of Sustainable Development
Earth Institute, Columbia University
Want to Learn More? One way to learn more about SDGs is to participate in all or part of the free online course on sustainable development by Jeffery Sach’s et al. at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. It is called The Age of Sustainable Development (see the five minute course overview above). The course includes video lectures, readings, and live discussions. As you will see, this in-depth focus on sustainable development is full of issues, questions, hard realities, and opportunities that are directly relevant for your work in member care and mission/aid. Below is a list of the 14 topics-lectures (thanks to Brigada Today for having shared information about this course broadly).
Lecture 1: What is Sustainable Development?
Lecture 2: Economic Development–How we measure it, how it varies in the world
Lecture 3: A Short History of Economic Development
Lecture 4: Why Did Some Countries Advance While Others Remained in Poverty?
Lecture 5: The MDGs and the End of Extreme Poverty
Lecture 6: Growth within Planetary Boundaries
Lecture 7: Human Rights and Gender Equality
Lecture 8: Education
Lecture 9: Universal Health Coverage
Lecture 10: Sustainable Food Supply and the End of Hunger
Lecture 11: Sustainable Cities
Lecture 12: Curbing Climate Change
Lecture 13: Saving Biodiversity
Lecture 14: The Sustainable Development Goals
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Final Thoughts
More things we need to know
We want to encourage us all to take the time to get informed, and as we can, to get involved with what is happening in sustainable development. We are learning that it cannot simply be dismissed as being some "secular thing" that is irrelevant for our lives or our work; that it is too hard to understand or we don't have the background to contribute; that someone else or the governments will get it sorted; and/or that this world is going to perish someday anyway so there is little need to bother with any concerted human efforts to prolong it. Here is a suggestion: In addition to reviewing the resources in this Update, you are invited to participate in the upcoming, free webinars that we are doing to help us all further understand and positively impact our globalizing world. The first two are described below.
Global Integration 1: Crossing Sectors in Global Member Care
This 90 minute, interactive webinar is based on the Introduction and chapter two of the book, Global Member Care: Crossing Sectors for Serving Humanity (2013). We'll describe the new global member care model, some ways for connecting and contributing across sectors, and the proposed sustainable development goals (highlighting their relevance of both for member care and mission/aid).
--Speakers: Dr. Kelly and Dr. Michele O'Donnell
--Date: Friday 15 November
--Register at mcaresources@gmail.com: send us your name and organizational affiliation; we'll send you the link/access code
Global Integration 2: Global Mental Health in Low-Resource Settings
This 90 minute, interactive webinar features Dr. Paul Bolton, live from his home in Massachusetts. Paul will discuss a) his work in developing mental health services in low resource countries (power point) and why it is important for sustainable development; and b) some of his personal experiences and suggestions for working in global mental health (interview).
--Speaker: Dr. Paul Bolton, Associate Scientist, Applied Mental Health Research Group and Center for Refugee and Disaster Response, Departments of International Health and Mental Health,Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
--Date: Friday 21 November, 12 noon-13:00 Eastern Standard Time
--Participants: 25 max
--Register at mcaresources@gmail.com: send us your name and organizational affiliation; we'll send you the link/access code
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More MCA Resources
Global Portal for Good Practice (website)
Reflections, Research, and Resources for Good Practice (weblog)
Global Mental Health: A Global Map for a Global Movement (website)
Global Integration: Ideas for Connecting and Contributing (updates, materials)
Global Member Care: (volume one): The Pearls and Perils of Good Practice (2011)
Recent! Global Member Care (volume two): Crossing Sectors for Serving Humanity (November 2013) The e-book version is available on Amazon
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